Edit: This is all still good stuff I use.
Originally posted November 3, 2009 on AIXchange
AIX pros have been using VNC and Screen for a long time. Years ago I wrote about these handy tools.
For a more recent and more in-depth look at Screen’s capabilities, check out this article from IBM developerWorks.
I literally use Screen every day, yet I’m amazed whenever I find people who still don’t know about it. I guess the methods and tools that I take for granted are always new to someone. Another tool that I use daily is called Synergy.
I can remember showing a then co-worker how Synergy allowed me to have my Windows-connected mouse and keyboard also control a Linux machine via the network. (And, yes, the keyboard was a Model M. Of course it was.)
I had two systems, each with a monitor attached. Using Synergy, I can move my mouse seamlessly between the desktops, and even cut and paste between systems. This can work with multiple Windows machines, Linux machines or combinations of each. I had a chuckle a few years later I visited that co-worker; he was still running Synergy and had been spreading the word. Now others in his office were using it, too.
I always like hearing about how people use their systems. How are they being backed them up? How many monitors are there, and are they extended desktops or different machines, with each running synergy? Are vnc and screen being used? What different things are being done on the command line?
For chatting, I like pidgin.
From Wikipedia:
“Pidgin (formerly named Gaim) is a multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various different services from one application.”
For a good ssh/scp/sftp client on Windows, there’s PuTTY, which, as explained here, is “a free implementation of Telnet and SSH for Win32 and UNIX platforms, along with an xterm terminal emulator. It is written and maintained primarily by Simon Tatham.”
Whenever I’m forced to use a Windows workstation, I rely on several options that will give me a UNIX-like experience, including cygwin, VMware (also here) and Damn Small Linux (DSL).
As explained here, DSL is “a very versatile 50MB mini desktop-oriented Linux distribution. Damn Small is small enough and smart enough to… boot from a business card CD as a live Linux distribution (LiveCD), boot from a USB pen drive, boot from within a host operating system (that’s right, it can run *inside* Windows).”
Which tools make your life easier? Please share your experiences in Comments.